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05/19/2006 Archived Entry: "Fiorentino Overcomes Hurricane Clampitt in Titanic Fight"
Fiorentino Overcomes Hurricane Clampitt in Titanic Fight
By J.D. Vena at ringside
PROVIDENCE, RI – There was a brief moment in the 10th and final round of the women’s IWBF lightweight title fight, when champion Jamie “The Hurricane” Clampitt and challenger Missy “The Fury” Fiorentino decided to break from the action. A good four feet stood between them as they both took a well deserved breath. Then they went back to what they were doing, engaging in one of the greatest women prize fights ever waged. After ten tumultuous, action-packed rounds, Fiorentino, the current IWBF featherweight champion from nearby Cranston, lifted the title from Clampitt by a razor-thin unanimous decision at the Rhode Island Convention Center.
Judge Walter Stone scored the fight 97-94, while judges Clark Sammartino and Ed Scunzio had it 96-94. The CBZ’s unofficial card had it for Fiorentino by a tally of 96-95, because of an even second round. The action and the volume of hard shots by both female warriors made it difficult to favor a side at times, but one thing was for sure, the 1,512 in attendance got their money’s worth.
“This was great for women’s boxing,” said Fiorentino. “It was nice that this was a main event and it shows that there a lot of great women fighters out there that can make great fights.”
The great fight started immediately after the opening bell, as both elected not to feel each other out. Clampitt, 134, of Naragansett, RI, was sharper in the first round countering Fiorentino’s home run swings, some of which landed. Fiorentino, 131, being the much smaller fighter, had to really make a fight out of it to keep Clampitt from scoring from the outside and finishing the exchanges.
“I thought I was tiring her out,” said Missy. “I knew the body shots were taking their toll. She did have a lot more weight on me, so I wanted to take her power away and slow her down so she couldn’t move. As the middle rounds came I knew it was working.”
“We flew out to Freddy Roaches gym in California,” said Peter Manfredo, Sr., Missy’s trainer. “Missy was sparring with five different women, some of which were over 150 pounds. We were ready for anything. We mainly worked at cutting the ring off and Missy couldn’t have executed a more perfect game plan. I was so thrilled I almost had a heart attack.”
Certainly, the fight fans got their thrills. Clampitt’s either refusal to not back down or the fact that it was impossible not to fight Missy’s fight made the combat that consistent. Only shear volume from Clampitt was winning the rounds she had eaned but Missy showed marked improvement in a leaky defense.
“I’ve been working on moving my head more,” said Missy. “Jamie is such a good counter-puncher and if I was a sitting duck, she would have beaten me.”
“Give Missy a lot of credit,” said Clampitt’s chief trainer, Chuck Sullivan. “You had two world champions fighting like world champions. It was a hell of a fight and dead close. Jamie hurt her hand early but she did what she could to try to not fight Missy’s fight, but it’s almost impossible to do that with her. Missy just keeps coming at you. I personally thought the fight could have gone to us but what are you going to do? I think they showed what women boxing is all about. I mean, was there a better fight than this one tonight?”
So far, there hasn’t been a better fight this year between men than this one, let alone last night. One can only hope that there will be a rematch, for a rivalry was born last night. For Clampitt, now 16-4-1 with 7 KO’s, she has to decide whether she wants to continue boxing or push for a rematch. Missy also has some contemplating to do.
“That’s what I have to think about, where I’m going to stay at this weight or move back down to featherweight,” said Fiorentino now 14-1 with 6 KO’s. “Originally I wanted to unify the featherweight title. It was hard to try to gain weight and being lighter made it more difficult for me.”
If America is holding its breath, waiting for the next great heavyweight to come along, they may not have to look any further. There were times when critics would call him lazy and overweight but that label may have shed away. In last night’s co-feature, Jason “Big Six” Estrada of Providence, recorded his sixth victory in defeating hometown rival Robert Wiggins over ten one-sided rounds. Estrada, 245, used incredible ring generalship, body shots and combinations to keep Wiggins, a dangerous 27-fight veteran who has been in with many top contenders, completely out of the fight. Estrada won by three scores of 100-90 in improving to 6-0 with 1 KO and 1 no decision.
Going into this fight, the big question was whether Estrada, the 2003 Pam Am Games Gold Medalist, could outlast Wiggins, 221, over 10 rounds. Wiggins has been engaging in 10 round fights for several years now and Estrada had never fought past the 6th round. His last fight was scheduled for six rounds with Yanqui Diaz, a dangerous journeyman who had beaten many regarded heavyweights. In the first round however, an accidental head butt caused a cut that forced an abrupt end to a fight that could have proved to be his stiffest test.
“This was really my sixth fight and for me to do 10 rounds this easy shows that I worked hard for this,” said Estrada. “Before I lost in the Olympics, I was the best thing since sliced bread. As soon as I lost, everyone said I was lazy. I’m trying to get back to where I use to be.”
What helped Estrada through this fight was not only hard work, but Wiggins himself.
“I’ve known Robert for a good seven years now,” said Estrada. I’ve cheered him on at fights. Nothing was new for me because I knew what he brought to the ring. When I learned that I was going to fight him, I just recalled what was successful when we had sparred together. You learn from guys like him, how to block with your hands and shoulders, how to fight on the inside. These were things I have learned and benefited from in sparring with Robert, (WBC champ) Hasim Rahman and (stablemate) Matt Godfrey.”
“Boxing is all about being smart. Floyd Patterson was a short heavyweight like me but he was smart. I dedicate this fight to him.”
For now Estrada seems to be on the right track or where many including your writer had envisioned. Whether this track leads him to the top of the division is up to him for it looks as if he controls the destiny of not only himself but American heavyweights.
In earlier professional bouts, Ossie Duran, 152 ½, of Providence via Accra, Ghana won a 6-round unanimous decision over Marcos “The Terminator” Primera, 153, of Asheboro, NC via Venezuela. All three judges favored Duran, rated 18th by the WBC by scores of 60-54. Duran is now 21-5-1 with 9 KO’s while Primera fell to 19-14-2 with 12 KO’s.
Local favorite, Richard “Bobo” Starnino, 165, of Providence returned from a 3 year hiatus and won a fast-paced, 4-round unanimous decision over “Fast” Eddie O’Neal, 169, of Lawton, OK. Starnino, 165, was his usual busy self and the three years off may have done him some good in winning all four rounds on the judges cards. After his rematch with Martin Thornton in 2003, Starnino was told by doctors that he had suffered too many concussions, despite entering last night’s fight with a 6-1-1 record.
“It was good to get this one over the hump,” said Starnino. “I had a long layoff but I’m ready to go now. In the beginning, it was tough for me coming back. It’s easy to get out of shape but it’s tough to get in shape. I wanted to make sure that I was in the best condition of my life before I stepped back in the ring.”
Eddie Soto, 141, of Pawtucket remained unbeaten when referee Ricky Gonzalez stopped a one-side affair with Montez Wilson, 146, Camden, NJ. Soto is now 5-0 with 4 KO’s.
Last night was a first for Rhode Island when promoter Jimmy Burchfield’s Classic Entertainment & Sports decided to make last night’s event a pro-am. Boxing fans were treated to four amateur fights that included some of the best in the country.
A two-time winner of the U. S. Championships and 2006 National Golden Gloves Champion, Demetrius “Boo Boo” Andrade displayed his ample skills set in a special amateur bout with One Shot Thomas of Brooklyn, winning an easy decision. Mark Deluca of Duxbury, MA who had lost close nod in the 165-pound New England Golden Glove finals to national champ, Edwin Rodriguez of Worcester, MA won a decision over the experienced Nathan Busa of Newton, MA. Pawtucket’s Jesus Cairo, another of Manfredo’s prospects won a decision over Diego Pereira of Providence in a match between 141-pounders and 90-pound Devon Shelton of Providence won a distance match with Andrew Lee. Perhaps the most impressive of the young amateurs however was 13-year old 105-pounder Hector “Hands of Stone” Colon. Colon, a 5-time jr. Olympic champion showed incredible skills for a boxer of his age and won a decision over South Boston’s Alex Frechette, who will only improve with fights with Colon. Many had remarked of Colon’s balance, defense and punching prowess. If he gets it this early and keeps at it, we could have a little Duran among us.
Last night's "Let It Ride" was taped live by CN8, The Comcast Network. The event will air network wide on Saturday, May 20 at 7:00 PM/ET. The CES/CN8 announcing team includes blow-by-blow commentator Ed Berliner, former five-time world champion Vinny "The Pazmanian Devil" Paz serving as color analyst, and Phil Burton as ringside reporter.
